Don't Panic!
As dramatic as the headline is no lives were lost and the UK remains as dry today as it was yesterday (in other words 'not very'). The tidal wave in this case is a very strange phenomenon of the River Severn called the Severn Bore. It actually occurs very frequently but most of the time is just causes a minor ripple against the general ebb of water going out to sea, but now and again (particularly close to the equinox) this surge of water can rise quite high and produce an intriguing effect on the river system - a tidal wave.
This tidal wave is exploited by surfers, kayakers, surfboarders, canoeists and even hardy swimmers who take to the waters at certain points along the embankment to face the challenge.
These Severn Bores are graded according to the height of the tide - A category 2 tide would be around 9.4 metres high, a category 3 approximately 9.7 metres etc.. so I was determined to see the affects of a category 4 (10 metres).
For me it was ideal timing as it would occur in the morning whilst most people are going to work or school so the crowds should be minimal - at least that was the theory.
I mentioned the event to a few camera club afficionados who decided to brave the unholy hours with me.
Geographic Location
The River Severn flows into the Severn Estuary which is situated within the English border to the South East of Wales. We observed the Bore within the red circled area which is where the River starts to narrow.
First Sighting
As I was getting up early I thought I might as well persuade my wife to go with me to the earlier Newnham event where she could contribute to the video taking. There is a car park and good viewing area here and at 7.45am in the morning would surely be empty of tourists.. but no it wasn't. We did manage to get a parking space but only just as the cars started to stream in and by 8am it was full.
At this location the river is still quite wide with large sand banks straddling the flow. Surfers and riders were gathering in the uninviting water and almost on time at 8.10 the tidal disruption was upon them.
Off To Minsterworth
As soon as the wave had passed we jumped in the car and set of to the next viewing which I had arranged with the others. This was the village of Minsterworth some 7 miles or so from Newnham. This also has a car park which was already full by the time we got there. Thankfully there was a second one off the main road which was already beginning to fill but still had places.
The viewing area is behind the Minsterworth church (circled above) and the congregation were making the most of the crowds by setting up a feeding station on the steps of the church.
Due to the now narrower river I was wary that the wave might reach the top of the embankment where we stood, nevertheless, in a fit of bravado, I placed my camera as close to the scene of the action as I dared which meant at the edge of the river bank about 4 feet above the waters surface. If you turn the sound up you should hear several noises including the roar of the tidal wave and the cries of hysteria from the stand-in video woman.
For my part I kept glancing along the rivers edge as the wave approached, trying to judge the height of the wave relative to the top of the embankment. At the last second as the surge hit I managed to rescue my camera from the deluge of surf but suffered a glancing blow to the lower half of my jeans. The last shot the camera took is shown below:
I shot a few freeze frames on my camera to show how the water height changed within seconds as the tidal surge swept towards us. The camera lens was almost level with the wave top when it hit.
There are two more category 4 tidal bores in March which I will strive to attend. Next time I'll be making an even earlier start wearing my bathing trunks whilst holding an umbrella. If my camera survives I'll post any interesting images then.